A/N: Another short chapter. Thought it was longer than it was. Was going to do the whole debate but couldn't make it work, so the whole scene just ended up as it did. Anyway, still working on how this is going to wrap up. The baby dragons still have some havoc to spread before the story is over. Enjoy and don't forget to review.
Chapter 15
Hiccup was doing his best to listen to the conversation going on around him but it was proving difficult with one of the baby dragons asleep on top of his head and another one wrapped round his metal leg. The other three unnamed baby dragons were busy climbing on either Toothless or Stormfly when they weren't busy running around the legs of the table, while Dragon Hiccup curled up in Astrid's lap, enjoying the attention he was getting from the blonde Viking. Every time Hiccup caught sight of her he couldn't help smiling. At one point Astrid looked up and saw him watching her and she gave him a smile back before she went back to giving the baby dragon more attention.
The arguments starting up around the table brought Hiccup's thoughts back to what he was meant to be doing. He gave a sigh and tried to pull the baby dragon from the top of his head, only to find it had a firm grip on his hair. "Toothless help me out here," Hiccup said signalling to the arguing council members. Toothless walked over to stand by Hiccup's chair and gave a loud roar, enough to quieten down the humans and send the baby dragons to Stormfly's side, except Dragon Hiccup, who went to hide in Astrid's hood. "I was hoping we could discuss this without it turning into an argument," Hiccup said standing up.
"Tuffnut started it," Snotlout mumbled.
"I did not!" Tuffnut protested.
"Well it wasn't me."
Tuffnut continued to protest, only to be silenced by a loud thud on the table. He looked up to see glaring at him, his fist still resting on the table. "I don't care who started it," Hiccup said with calm fury. "We are going to finish this meeting without any more arguments. Got that?"
"Yes Chief," Tuffnut said. "Sorry Chief."
"Good." Hiccup straightened up and put both hands behind his back, so no-one but Astrid could see him rubbing his sore knuckles, making a mental note not to slam his fist on the table so hard next time. "Now, I think we've heard enough," he continued. "Time we put this to the vote." There were mummers of agreement. "All those in favour for Deadly Furies, raise your hand," Hiccup said. Snotlout, the twins, Spitelout and a few others raised their hands. "And those in favour of Night Nadders raise your hands." The rest of the council raised their hands, outvoting the others. "Well then, Night Nadders it is then," Hiccup said as the winning voters lowered their hands.
Fishlegs cheered, while Snotlout and the twins groaned. "Can we have a recount?" Ruffnut asked.
"No," Hiccup answered.
"But Snotlout's idea was so good!"
"Well a majority of the council didn't think so. Now anything else that needs to be covered in this meeting?"
Everyone at the table shock their heads so Hiccup ended the meeting and watched as everyone got up to leave. Astrid removed Dragon Hiccup from her hood before she got up and went to stand at her fiancé's side. "How's the hand?" she asked.
"Still a little sore," Hiccup replied. "If I ever do that again remind me not to hit so hard."
"You shut everyone up though."
"Yeah, guess I have that."
"So, anything else on your To-Do list today?"
"Unfortunately yes. But I can always make one of those things walking you home."
Astrid smiled. "Well I do have a lot of dragons to get home and feed," she said before giving Dragon Hiccup a bit more attention. "Especially this one. I bet you're really hungry aren't you? Let's get you home and get you some nice fresh fish."
Hiccup just smiled and gave Astrid a quick kiss on the head, before he headed for the doors, Toothless, Stormfly and the other baby dragons they'd been busy gathering up close behind. Astrid ran to keep up, settling herself under Hiccup's arm when she reached him. Toothless, Stormfly and the other baby dragons went off ahead as they headed down the steps. Hiccup glanced around the village, seeing how peaceful everything looked. This was the Berk he enjoyed seeing the most, the times when he could really see that all his hard work had been worth it. He really wouldn't have it any other way.